Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Triad

I don't see why we can't just go on as three, say the Byrds

The most interesting reviews on amazon.com are undoubtedly the two-star ones. You avoid the senseless praise and idiots who're just trying to be as extreme in their vitriol - the real vitriol comes from those who recognize that there is something worth listening to but also realize the numerous flaws. It's especially fun to read this way about albums you enjoy. Follow these, if you have the time, with the three-star ones, then the ones, then the fours. Why do you need to read 5/5 reviews? They can't tell you anything other than how superlative the album is in X many ways. You should be coming up with that yourself.

So last week I was going to the beach at Neville Park. Not the one with the boardwalk - the secret one where the beach parties were in years past. Two things:1) First, a little background, and yes, this will sound ridiculous: Back in '04, I went to the beach with Elyse. On the way there, we hopped on the streetcar east, in front of The Bay. When we passed Healey's I knew something was wrong. Sure enough, in a few minutes we were on the Queensway. An hour later we had disembarked and embarked on a bus really going east, and sure enough, we passed the point where we got on the last bus in the first place. By the time we reached the beach our night was pretty over. But more importantly, that streetcar can not turn around, and I would know if I'd crossed the road before getting on. If I hadn't, Elyse would have. That we both somehow had a complete lapse of memory and/or reason is beyond fathomable. I also stress we were both sober at the time. It stands as the weirdest ever thing in my life and something that still makes me wonder for instants if there isn't some prankster god up there hiding fossils and fucking with streetcars.So, background established, we (Bonnie and I) reached Bloor and Yonge and got on the subway North. Only the first station we reached was Rosedale. Rosedale! We looked at each other and shook our heads. Bizarre. But Bonnie can only imagine how incredibly fucking weird it was. Currently the two most inexplicable events in my memoried life deal with going to the same place. I don't even know how to start, only to say that if you don't believe me you can ask Elyse about the first time and Bonnie about the second. There is no conclusion to gather here that I can see.2) The beach has been refenced, and now the fences are on private property. The new fences are 8-10 feet high. We had to go to the boardwalk since Bon was in flipflops and didn't want to climb the fence barefoot. I want my beach back. It's my beach, and the new one isn't at all the same. The people, the designs in sand, the cars, the visible buildings...I miss my beach already and I plan to get in before the summer's over. Hopefully not alone.